University of Malaya V

HINDUISM : SOME ASPECTS OF HINDU TEMPIES IN KUALA LUMPUR Oleh GANESH A/L SANGARAN NO . MATRIK 041456 UniversityLATIHAN IU1IAH of Malaya BAGI MEMENUHI SEBAHAGIAN DARIPADA SYARAT- SYARAT UNTUK IJAZAH SARJANA MUDA SASTERA JABATAN ANTROPOLOGI DAN SOSIOLOGI UNIVERSITI MALAYA KUALA LUMPUR SESSI 1984/85 AUM Sri Ganeshaya Namaha Dedicated to: My Parents, My Brothers , My Late Sister (who did not live long ' enough to enjoy life) , and es pecially t o •• • Latha ..Purity , patience and perserverance are the three essentials to success, and above all , Love". University of- Swami Malaya Vivekananda ii ACKJ'\OWIEDGEMF;NT On the successful completion of this graduation exercise, it is only appropriate that I extend my sincere thanks and gratit ude to the following people who have made it possible: Dr. Raymond Lee , my Supervisor, f or his invaluable help, advice and guidance. Dr. S. M. Ponniah, The President of the Malays ia Hindu Sangam , who gave permission to use the Sanga~ ' s Census on Hi ndu Templ e s . Mr . Thiruvasagam , the Secretary of the Saiva Siddhanta Mandran , who allowed me to join a religious class on Hinduism . Mr . So~ askanda Moorthy, Hon. Secret ary of ....e l an~or/Wi layah Persekutuan Ceylon Saivite s Association and ~1r . Vinaya Lau , for t heir useful suggestions regarding this research. The National Hindu Youth Council, The Manageme nt Committees and priests of the various temples in Kuala Lumpur , all my friends for their moral support and last but not least, Mrs . Nesh f or her constant encouragementUniversity and inspiration of. Malaya Jabatan Antropologi dan Sosiologi Universiti Malaya Kuala Lumpur 18th January 1985 iii SINOPSIS_ Dalarn konteks Malaysia, sebuah kuil Hindu wuj ud s ebagai sebuah tempat yang menarik. Suatu kajian ke atas kuil- kuil Hindu akan menolong menjelaskan kebudayaan serta kepercayaan keagam aan or ang orang India di Malaysia. Kajian ini mengandungi lima bab. Bab Satu mengandungi penerangan tentang pengenalan , t ujuan dan skop kajian ini. Berbagai methodologi yang digunakan dan m as a la~ masalah yang dihadapi semasa kajian ini juga disentuh d i dalam bab ini. Bab Kedua berkaitan dengan permulaan perkembangan kuil- kuil Hindu di Kuala Lumpur. Oefinasi yang ringkas t entang agama Hi ndu di berikan dan penekanan a::ialah pada pembahagi an kuil- kuil ini berdasarkan beberapa kriteria yang tertentu. Di dalam Bab Ke tiga , upcara- upacara dan perayaan- perayaan di dalam kuil- kuil ini dijelaskan. Suatu penerangan yang menyel uruh diberikan tentang perkara- perkara yang berkaitan dengan berbagai- bagai perayaan yang dirayakan oleh kuil- kuil . Peranan padri-padri s erta Dewa Dewa yang utamaUniversity diberi perhatian. of Malaya Bab Keempat adalah mengenai aspek- aspek sosial dan politik kuil- kuil Hindu ini. Ini adalah penting ker ana kuil-kuil mempunyai tanggungjawab yang besar terhadap masyarakat, terutama sekal i dalam pengekalan warisan budaya. Peranan beberapa organisasi yang berkaitan dengan kuil- kuil juga diberi tunpuan. iv Di dalam Bab Kelima, pene kana.Q ut ama di berikan kepada mas al a h-masalah yang dinadapi oleh kuil- kuil . Beberapa cadangan juga di berikan untuk mengat asinya. Ini adalah untuk menentukan bahawa kuil- kuil Hindu ini t e rus kekal di t e ngah-tengah pembangunan yang pesat di Malays i a . University of Malaya v SYNOPSI S A Hindu temple remains a place of interes t in the Malaysian context. A study on Hi ndu Temples will help t o e xplain the reli gious belief and cul ture of t he Indians in Malaysi a . This r esearch consis ts of five chapt ers. Chapter I contains inf onnation on i ntroducti on , aims and scope of this s tudy. Various methods that wer e used and problems that were f aced d uring t he research are also t ouched in this chapt er. Chapter II de als with the hi s t or ical development of Hindu Temples in Kuala Lunpur. A brief definition of Hinduism is given and emphas i s i s on the c at egor ization of t he ~emples based on specific criterias . In Chapter III, rituals and f estivals of the temples are gi ven due importance . A t hor ough explanati on i s given on matt ers pert aining to t he various f estivals celebr ated by the temples. The r ole of temple pries ts and the main deities ar e also highlight ed . Chapt er IV is about the social and political aspects of t he Hindu templesUniversity. It is important because templeof s Malayahave a l ot of responsibilities t owards t he society especially in s us t aining the cultural heritage . The role of various organisation is also focus sed in relation to the temples. In Chapter v, the main emphasis is on t he pr oblems that are being f aced by the temples . Some sugge s t i ve r emarks had been vi given on how to overcOMe t hem . This is to ensure thctt the Hindu Temples still exis t in t he midst of rapid developnent in Malaysia . University of Malaya vii LIST OF TAfUES Page 2. 1 Basic Structure of a Temple 10 2. 2 Navakki r ar\kal 1 1 2. 3 Est ablishment of Hi ndu Temples according to main deities 17 2. 4 Cat egorizat i on of Hi ndu Temples according t o Registrati on, Management , Land Owner shi p , Building Struct ure and Consecr a t i on Ceremony 22 3. 1 Different Types of Deepam 40 3. 2 Object s used during puja 41 University of Malaya viii LIST OF PHOTOGRAP HS Nunber Page 1 Navakki rakai1kal 12 2 Vahanam and Pali - peetam 12 3 Cat egory A Templ e 23 4 Cat egor y B Temple 2 3 5 Cat egory C Temple 24 6 Designs on t he Ce i l ing 24 7 Rajagopuram 32 8 Rajagopuram 32 9 Consecration Ceremony 34 10 Influence of Chinese Religion 34 _, 11 Ganes ha 45 I 12 Siva 45 13 Mariamman 51 14 Murugan 51 15 Kaliarrunan 52 16 Muneswarar 52 17 AratiUniversity .. of Malaya53 18 Thaip\isam 53 19 Thai pus am 63 20 Re ligi ous Acti vit i e s 71 21 Cultural Activities 71 22 Social As pect 86 23 Soci al As pect 86 i x CO NTENTS_ _ Page Dedication i Acknowledgement ii Sinopsis iii Synopsis •• .. v List of Tables .. vii Lis t of Photographs viii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION l 1. 1 Aims Of Research 1 1. 2 Methods Used .. 3 1 . 3 Problems faced during Research 5 II HI STORICAL DEVEI.DPMENT OF HINnu r'El'1 PU:S IN KUALA LLMPUR 7 2 . 1 Hinduism 7 2 . 2 Wh at is a Temple 9 2 . 3 The Early Temples 13 2. 4 Categorization of Temples 19 2. 4 . 1 Registration 20 2. 4. 3 Size .. 25 University2 . 5 Develoµnent of Hindu Temples of Malaya.. 26 2 . 5. 1 Land Ownership 26 2 . 5 . 2 Constructi on and Labour 28 2 . 5. 3 Consecration Ceremony 28 2 . 5. 4 Statuary .. 30 2 . 6 Architecture 31 2 . 7 Financial Aspect 33 x Page III RITUALS AND FE~TIVALS OF HI~DU TEMPLES 35 3. 1 Rituals of a Temple 35 3. 1 . 1 abisekam. 36 3. 1. 2 Puja .. 37 3. 1 . 3 Arccanai 42 3. 2 Temple Priests 43 3. 3 Temple Assistants 47 3. 4 The Main Deities 48 _ , 3. 4. l Lord Ganesha 48 3. 4 . 2 Lord Murugan 49 3. 4. 3 Mariamman 50 I 3. 4 . 4 Lord Siva 54 3. 5 Conduct in Temple 54 3. 6 Upayams 55 3. 7 Sacred Symbols in Hindu Temples 56 3. 8 Role of Mediuns 59 3. 9 Animal Sacrifice 60 3. 10 Festivals 61 3. 10. 1 Thaipusam 61 3. 10. 2 Navarathiri 62 3. 10. 3 Vinayagar Chatur thi 64 3. 10. 4 Panguni Uthiram 65 3. 10 . 5 Deepavali 65 IV SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ASPECTS OF HINDU TEMPIES 66 4. 1 Social Significance of Hindu Temples 66 University4. 2 Social Activities and Se rviceofs Malaya67 4 . 3 Caste Influence 73 4. 4 Youth Committees 74 4. 5 Role of Malaysia Hindu Sangan 75 4. 6 Saiva Siddhanta Mandr am 78 xi Page 4 . 7 Role of Hindu Youth Organisation 80 4. 8 Political Significance of Temples 82 4 . 9 central Ad.ministr ation of Temples 83 4. 10 Role of M. I .C. in the Temples 84 v CONCLUSION .. 87 5 . 1 Problems faced by the Hindu Temples 87 5. 2 Suggest ions to overcome the Problems 94 5. 3 Conclusion 97 BIBLIOGRAPHY 98 University of Malaya 1 1 . 1 Aims of Re s earch It has be en obs er ve~ t h~t tre~ ~re rarely any hoovs wr i t ten a bo u t Hi ndu religion o r liindui:;;n; in ?·.alD~ tiiO . :xccrt f o r some disserta t ions by l ocnl ac8demicinna , studies in this f i e ld is quit e new. Ther e ~re s t i l l many esJects of Hinduism in Malaysia t ha t need t o be s tudied , wh i ch c an also b0 used by the non- Hindus t o know mo r e a bou t t h e Hindu her itage. The following a c ad e~ ic exercis e i s pre sented in on a ttenp t t o fill up , :i.n p~rt a t lP st , the V<'C\tUC of infor1 "I ti on regardine the Hind u r e ligion i n Naleysir .

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